1C The Tudors: England, c1485-1603 PART ONE

What years did Henry VII rule?

1485-1509

How did Henry VII get the throne?

Usurper, by killing Richard III (Edward V's regent, who went missing along with his brother) in the Battle of Bosworth.

How did Henry VII consolidate his power after the usurpation of Richard III?

Dated his reign as in August 1485, the day before the Battle of Bosworth.
Also arranged for the first meeting of parliament to take place after his coronation, which demonstrated that his right to the throne was based on 'hereditary right'.
Married Elizabeth of York, unionising Lancaster and York to form the Tudor Rose.

What were the main impostures that occurred throughout Henry VII's reign?

Lambert Simnel's impersonation of the Earl of Warrick (at the Earl of Lincoln's command) led to him being announced King Edward in Ireland, and fleeing to Margaret of Burgundy. She led an invasion into England but they were defeated at the Battle of Stoke Field.
Perkin Warbeck (links w/ MoB) was trained to impersonate Richard Duke of York (one of Edward IV's sons) and ended up trying to invade England w/ a small Scottish force, as well as trying and failing to exploit the Cornish Rebellion in 1497.

What was the structure of the Tudor Government in Henry VII's early reign?

Split into Court, The Royal Household, and Parliament.
Parliament -\> Called to meet for tax purposes. Included Justices of the Peace, who were the closest thing to 'police' and mostly dealt with law.
Court -\>
Not to do w/ law, but entertained the King, possibly exerting influence.
Royal Household
-\>
Privy Chamber

What were Henry VII's main aims for his foreign policies?

No plans to try assert English dominance in Europe, alongside no interest in war or gaining land. Growing defence and national security, trade w/ Europe, and being recognised as the True King of England were hsi main concerns.

What was the state of Henry VII's foreign policy with Brittany?

In 1487, Brittany was a Fiefdom of France but mostly independent. France attempted to invade, and in '89, Henry was granted extraordinary revenue to raise an army against them. HVII made an alliance with Maximillian (HRE), but when Henry's English army arrived, Duchess Anne got worried, surrendered, and married Charles VIII (King of France). Maximillian called off the alliance.

What was the state of Henry VII's foreign policy with Burgundy?

Margaret of Burgundy was the sister of Edward IV, and Maximillian was her stepson-in-law. HVII wanted good relations as most of England's exports went through NL (under Burgundy's rule). Relations were strained as HRE hosted Perkin Warbeck, and HVII placed a trade embargo on Anglo-Burgundian trade. This ended with the Intercursus Magnus (in 1496).

What and when were the 2 Intercursus' introduced by Henry VII?

Intercursus Magnus - 1496 - ended the Anglo-Burgundian trade embargo (signed by HVII and Philip, son of HRE)
Intercursus Malus - 1506 - was a new trade agreement in which HVII demanded stronger trade opportunities for English merchants in NL.

What was the state of Henry VII’s foreign policy with Spain?

Treaty of Medina del Campo in 1489 offered mutual protection & agreed not to harbour rebels, alongside the marriage of Prince Arthur to Princess Catherine. However, Ferdinand did not want the marriage to go through due to England’s dynastic instability. They were married despite this in 1501, and Arthur died a year later. HVII offered his son (HVIII) but Ferdinand refused. HVII harboured Princess Juana (Catherine’s sister) and created the Treaty of Windsor in 1506.

What was the state of Henry VII’s foreign policy with Scotland?

Traditional enemy of England, often working with France. King James IV had harboured Perkin Warbeck, encouraging him to cross to England w/ an army in ‘96, though HVII beat him with a large army from extraordinary revenue. In ‘97, there was the Cornish Rebellion which broke out in protest of this, prompting HVII to sign a truce w/ Scotland. From ‘98 onwards the relations improved significantly, with Warbeck executed in ‘99. The mutual signing of The Treaty of Perpetual Peace in 1503 secured a marriage agreement for James IV and HVII’s daughter Margaret.

What was the state of Henry VII’s foreign policy with Ireland?

**Earl of Kildare** (Lord Deputy) was feared by Henry due to his Yorkist sympathies, and having previously supported Simnel in crowning him King of Ireland.

HVII wanted to stop relying on the Irish aristocracy and intended to use his rule of the Pale to implement English law; this was too expensive, and **Warbeck** had tried to raise Irish armies. HVII was ultimately forced to recall Poynings and used Kildare as deputy, who then served Henry loyally as it worked in his own interest. By 1500, HVII had secured a generally peaceable agreement.

What were the major rebellions which occurred during Henry VII’s reign?

**Yorkshire Rebellion (1489)**

Sparked by resentment of extraordinary revenue awarded by parliament for finance forces to Brittany. The Earl of Northumberland was murdered.

**Cornish Rebellion (1497)**

Sparked against extraordinary revenue granted for an army against Perkin Warbeck’s Scots. This posed a great threat to Henry’s rule as there were around 15,000 involved, and the Rebels marched all the way to London without being stopped.

What was Henry VII’s England’s economy like?

Most of the 2.2m population made a living from agriculture, though 1480-90 there was a major shift from arable to sheep. Peasants favoured open-field husbandry whilst cloth trade grew to around 90% of British exports (throughout Henry’s reign there was about a 60% increase).

**Raw wool** was exported through Calais (**Merchants of the Staple**)

**Cloth** was exported from London to Antwerp (**Merchant Adventurers**)

Outline Humanism during Henry VII’s reign, and important individuals to the Humanist movement

Development of Renaissance ideals, with Humanists particularly concerned with establishing reliability of Latin & Greek translations (which were in turn used to clarify religious texts).

**John Colet** - saw Humanism as a mean of reforming the Church, becoming Dean of St Paul’s in 1512

**Sir Thomas More** - one of Henry VII’s ministers

What were Henry VIII’s aims when he came to the throne?

Establishing his name and status amongst European monarchs.

Establishing himself as ‘warrior king’ through successes in the battle field.

Outline Henry VIII’s wives and their timeline

**1509-33** Catherine of Aragon - Annulled

**1533-36** Anne Boleyn - Beheaded

**1536-37** Jane Seymour - Died

**1540** Anne of Cleves - Annulled

**1540-41** Catherine Howard - Beheaded

**1543-47** Catherine Parr - Outlived HVIII

Outline the state of domestic policy during Henry VIII’s reign

HVIII didn’t make many decisions on his own; he allowed others he had appointed to do it for him.

Wolsey increased the use of the Star Chamber, believing all crimes were punishable despite status.

What was enclosure?

Rich and powerful people putting fences around common land and putting sheep in the fields. Forced the poor off of the land. Laws were made to try limit enclosure in 1489 & 1515.

Outline the decline of monasticism during Henry VIII’s reign

Valor Ecclesiasticus was a survey set up by Cromwell in 1535, in attempts to gather information as to the wealth of the church.

1536 - Act of Parliament was passed to dissolve smaller monasteries (under the cover that they had ‘allowed standards to slip.’

1539 - Act dissolved remaining monasteries, and by March 1540 all had been dissolved

Describe the changes to the Church’s structure during Henry VIII’s reign

HVIII became Supreme Head of the Church of England through the Act of Supremacy of 1543, when England split from the Roman Catholic Church.

Two sets of royal injunctions were made;

1536 - restriction on number of Holy Days, discouraged pilgrimage

1538 - each Church had to get an English Bible, but Act for the Advancement of True Religion (1543) restrcited the Bible to be read by only upper-class men.

What was the Pilgrimage of Grace?

1536

Started in Lincolnshire & spread to Yorkshire (Pontefract Castle)

Letters sent by rebels from, ‘Captain Poverty’

Huge resentment for the gvt. which was pushing for religious change

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